


Man, oh man, you’re my best friend

by Lixel



Series: Holy Moly, Me oh My [2]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Darcy calls Davey out on his shit, Emotional, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Overthinking, Requited Love, So does Crutchie but he's more subtle, but some parts are really really sad, does this count as angst?, i dont think so, or do they???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-24 08:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30069150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lixel/pseuds/Lixel
Summary: “Don’t sidetrack,” he then said, dragging a hand through his hair, “I’m serious.”“Right, yeah, go on, please, tell me why we shouldn’t date despite our mutual interest in each other, I can’t wait for all the reasons.”Man, oh, man, you're my best friend,I scream it to the nothingness.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Series: Holy Moly, Me oh My [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2191143
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	1. 2.1.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dear people!!!
> 
> Welcome to part 2 of this series of mine. I decided to split this part into two chapters because I started writing and all of a sudden I had _so many words_. I also am still not too happy with the second chapter, but I really liked the first one, so I thought while I'm busy editing 2.2. I might as well already give you 2.1. It made sense in my head, I swear.
> 
> If you haven't read the first part of this series, now might be a good time to do so. I mean, I can't control your life decisions, but things just make more sense, so it is highly recommended. I also highly recommend [this](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0G1Avk8NXa664nrZe28UxO?si=svPjikSBTd2TfZX4ICQL2Q) playlist here, which I solely created for this project. I always listen to it while writing, and I think it might just be nice for you to have something fitting to listen to while reading?
> 
> Again, as always: If you find any language errors in my writing, feel free to point them out to me so I can correct them and improve my writing! English is not my first language, but it will be my major in university, so I am eager to learn. Literally, just write a comment or send me a DM on Twitter ([@xdrownedinink](https://twitter.com/xdrownedinink)) or Instagram ([@xlixel](https://www.instagram.com/xlixel/)). It'd help me a lot!!!
> 
> And with that being said, now I hope you enjoy part 2 of my new(sies) series!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey,” Jack said, burying his hands in the pockets of his jeans, “I’m sorry, is this too much? I just wanted to see you.”  
> “It’s not too much,” Davey quickly ensured him, fiddling with the straps of his backpack, “I’m just not prepared enough,” he then blurted out.  
> “Prepared for what?” Jack furrowed his brows.  
> “I, uh,” Dave avoided meeting Jack’s eyes, “I did some thinking. About us.”

_9:29 am  
To_ **Darcy Reid**  
Forgive me Lord for I have sinned.

 _9:31 am  
From_ **Darcy Reid**  
??? 

_From_ **Darcy Reid**  
Aren’t you Jewish

 _From_ **Darcy Reid**  
What did you do

 _To_ **Darcy Reid**  
So you know how I only sleep with someone when I am in a committed relationship with them or when I am ridiculously wasted?

 _9:33 am  
From_ **Darcy Reid**  
I briefly remember something along the lines of that 

_To_ **Darcy Reid**  
Yeah, so I might or might not have slept with Jack yesterday after confessing my undying love for him. 

_9:37 am  
From_ **Darcy Reid**  
David Jacobs, you can’t just tell me news like this when I’m literally sitting in class rn. I get out at 10:30, text you then? 

_To_ **Darcy Reid**  
I have class in 20 minutes and I’ll call Jack over immediately after to fucking talk about what this is between us now, but I mean I can phone you then if you want me to? 

_9:39 am  
From_ **Darcy Reid**  
Bitch of course I want to know the details after that 

_From_ **Darcy Reid**  
Text me as soon as possible after you two talked 

* * *

David’s newfound confidence, however, disappeared bit by bit throughout his class, on which he could not focus the slightest.  
What had been adrenaline and endorphins when he left Jack’s and Crutchie’s apartment, by now had turned into a churning stomach and a headful of worries. It just seemed surreal, if he was being honest with himself.  
The great Jack Kelly? Having romantic feelings for mediocre David Jacobs? For sure, what would be next? Professor Pulitzer giving out A’s? Race stopping betting on everything there is to bet on? The probability was just really, really tiny, for David’s taste. 

But well, Jack _said_ it. Jack said that what happened last night wasn’t just a drunken mistake to him. For God’s sake, he wanted Davey to stay and keep kissing him.  
David couldn’t quite grasp that yet. It just seemed too good to be true. 

Besides, he had seen Jack go through many girlfriends, boyfriends, partners in the last two years. Like, _many_. He knew that Jack just grew unhappy the longer a relationship lasted. His longest relationship had been the one with Kath, and even they split up after not even two months.  
David wasn’t afraid to get cheated on, he knew that Jack would never do something like that, but he didn’t want Jack to be unhappy just to please him. 

Approximately 15 minutes into class, he found himself not understanding one single thing the teacher was talking about. He missed what happened three slides before, and that appeared to be the basis for today’s lecture, of course. And chanced were, that now he would be essentially unable to follow the entire next 45 minutes. Great job, Jacobs, truly, he thought. 

Suppressing a sigh, he pulled out a piece of paper and started writing a list with pros and cons of him and Jack dating, which was just such a David-thing to do. 

* * *

David was never good at talks like these. He couldn’t just walk into an important discussion without preparing himself. He was a good writer, he would prepare what he was going to say and then just try to say it in the same manner he would intend the main character in his work to say it. That worked out just fine.  
But coming up with good points on the spot? Without having even two minutes to overthink and pre-construct possible ways this thing could go? Big no. Never. Not if he could avoid it. 

Jack was different in that aspect. He once told Davey about a whole presentation he held in class that he just came up with on the spot. Davey already felt anxious by just the thought of that. 

The plan was to call Jack over as soon as Davey was back at his dorm and finished the list, maybe write down some more things he wanted to mention and wanted to know Jack’s opinion on.  
The said plan got pretty much crushed when David turned into the hallway and saw Jack leaning against the wall by his dorm room. He was clenching his hands into fists and unclenched them again, again and again. 

Probably at the sound of David’s steps, Jack looked up. His tense face fell into a soft smile as he saw Davey. Davey felt his heart skip a beat. 

“Hey,” Jack said, burying his hands in the pockets of his jeans, “I’m sorry, is this too much? I just wanted to see you.”  
“It’s not too much,” Davey quickly ensured him, fiddling with the straps of his backpack, “I’m just not prepared enough,” he then blurted out.  
“Prepared for what?” Jack furrowed his brows.  
“I, uh,” Dave avoided meeting Jack’s eyes, “I did some thinking. About us.” 

“Oh,” Jack’s smile disappeared immediately.  
“Yeah.”  
“So… You just said that to make me feel better this morning. This _was_ just a drunken mistake.”  
He didn’t even phrase it like a question. It sounded like a neutral statement. As neutral as a thing like this could possibly sound, at least. 

“No!” Dave quickly shook his head, “No, I swear-” He almost dropped the room key in his hands, “Jack, I swear I want this. Like, I want this so badly. I just don’t know if it’s a good idea.”  
Jack made a bunch of confused attempts to begin speaking, consisting of flabbergasted noises, before he actually brought out words, “How could this not be a good idea?” 

“That’s what I wanted to write down!” David explained himself, almost annoyed, “See, let’s maybe not discuss this in the hallway?”  
He pressed past Jack and unlocked the door to his room.  
Right when they got inside, Davey took off his backpack, pulled out the list he was working on, and threw the bag aside. The edges of the paper wrinkled in his fist.  
Jack watched his every move, closing the door behind himself and leaning against it.  
“Do you need more time?” he then sincerely asked, eyeing the paper in David’s hand. He knew about David’s anxiety about speaking unprepared.  
Fucking Christ, why was he that considerate, and why did Davey decide to not even try to give it a shot? 

He threw a quick glance over the notes he had scribbled down already. Technically, they were enough to articulate his thoughts and fears, the talk itself just wouldn’t be… pretty.  
But what did that matter now anyway, his head was now full of thoughts again, sorting all of them out would need at least half an hour, and he really didn’t feel like sitting in a room with Jack for 30 minutes, just in complete silence. Well, it wasn’t like they had never hung out together without really talking much. Like when Davey was stressing out over a final and Jack decided just to come over to provide him silent company.  
This was different, though. _This_ time, Jack wasn’t what he needed to calm down. Jack was literally what was stressing him out right now. 

“No, it’s fine. But don’t expect too much,” Davey responded after a few seconds of contemplating and sat down in his bed. He tapped on the spot next to him.  
A short moment of hesitation passed before Jack walked over to the bed and sat down as well. 

“I want to start this off by stressing once again how much I would want this. Us,” Davey began, “But I just don’t think it’s a good idea. We’d be risking too much. We’d be risking losing our best friend, both of us.” 

Jack groaned.  
“You know, it’s funny, that’s so funny. That’s pretty much exactly what Crutchie predicted you to say. Psych majors, am I right?”  
“You told Crutchie?” David asked with wide eyes.  
“I sort of didn’t have to, he just guessed correctly,” Jack shrugged, “It wasn’t too hard to see, honestly. You, stumbling out of my bedroom in a hurry, there isn’t really a platonic explanation for that.”  
David scoffed, “I slept over at your place plenty of times. Who says I didn’t just crash and forgot I had class the next day?”  
Jack gave a laugh, “You, _forgetting_ you had class?”  
“It could be!”  
“It’s very unlikely.”  
David crossed his arms.  
“Still, I think it was wrong of Crutchie to just jump to conclusions.” 

Jack tilted his head.  
“Besides, I don’t know if you already looked into a mirror today, but I am pretty sure there is a chance the golfball-sized hickey on your neck gave us away.”  
“The-” David raised his hand to touch his neck and, indeed, he winced as his fingers touched the bruised spot on his skin, “ _Fuck_ , why didn’t you tell me this morning? I went to class like this!”  
“Sorry!” Jack tried to say seriously, though the corner of his mouth gave him away, “I thought it was hot!” 

“ _Jackson_!”  
“What?! I’m not gonna lie and say I didn’t find it hot that you’re running around with a hickey that _I_ gave you!”  
“Jesus Christ, you’re a child!” David shoved Jack playfully. At the same time, he felt his face flush again. Wow, Jack Kelly could call him hot and he’d just start swooning like a high school girl, didn’t he? 

“And don’t sidetrack,” he then said, dragging a hand through his hair, “I’m serious.”  
“Right, yeah, go on, please, tell me why we shouldn’t date despite our mutual interest in each other, I can’t wait for all the reasons,” Jack sarcastically gave back. 

“Jack, look,” Dave straightened his back, “You’re the most important person in my life. And I mean that. You’re literally so important to me, and I don’t think I could bear to lose this. Jackie, what I said yesterday night on the balcony is 100% true. Don’t want to lose _you_.”  
“But you’re not even losing me!” Jack made clear, “If anything, you’re winning another part me, or something like this. Dave, I’ll still be your best friend, nothing can and will ever change that, alright?” 

“I just don’t think we would work out like this,” David sighed.  
“I disagree,” Jack shot back immediately, “You can’t know that until we try it.”  
“I know for a fact that long-term relationships never really were your specialty,” Dave pointed out. The paper in his hand made a crumbling sound as the grip around it tightened.  
“David,” Jack said and leaned forward, placing his hands on Davey’s shoulders, “Do you think I haven’t thought about this?”  
“Well, you don’t really seem like it,” his skin tingled where Jack touched him, “You seem to think everything is gonna be magically easy. Jackie, relationships are hard. They require work and effort, and I have never seen you put in really anything like this into one of yours.” 

“Well, these people ain’t you!” Jack jumped up from the bed and walked a few steps before he took a deep breath and turned around to face Davey again, “Dave, I never planned on you. I never planned on having feelings for you. And I am scared as hell because I never felt this strongly about _anyone_.  
All I want is to wake up together with you, even though you wake up at an ungodly hour in the morning. I want to go through the day holding your hand and fall asleep with you curled up next to me. Dave, I want to make you the happiest person in this world, and I _know_ I can, I just know it.” 

“Don’t you think I know how that feels?!” David asked louder than he anticipated, “This morning I would not believe my luck when I heard that you had feelings for me. I thought you were joking, I genuinely couldn’t believe how you could ever have any romantic interest in me.  
Don’t you think I want those things too? But let’s be real here, how long would these feelings of yours last? Up to now, mine last for almost one year, Jack. One. Year. When would you lose interest, just like you did with everybody else? How many dates, or kisses, or times we slept together would it take? A week? A month? Two?” 

Jack fell silent for a second.  
“I know it’s naive,” he then said in a quiet, almost desperate laugh, “But I think we could last for a lifetime. And I think it’d be a mistake to let this slide.” 

David was stunned for a second by Jack’s big words and promises.  
“You’re right,” he then said, “It’s naive.”  
“What can I do to show you how goddamn serious I am?” Jack asked quietly.  
“Jack, I _know_ how serious you are,” David shook his head, “I know that you wouldn’t say these things if you wouldn’t mean them. But what if we date for a few weeks and then you recognize that it’s not what you wanted? What if you trap yourself in something you can’t escape later because you don’t want to hurt me?”  
“I just don’t think that’s very likely to happen,” Jack knelt down in front of the bed, in front of Davey, and took his hands in his. The pros and cons list laid abandoned in the comforter next to him, “Dave, I see you. I hear you. I can see why these things make you feel like this couldn’t work out. Fuck, I felt like this couldn’t work out. And I thought about it a lot and I came to the conclusion that _I don’t care that it’s a risk_. I am willing to take that risk.”  
He raised Davey’s hands to his face and pressed light kisses onto the cold skin. 

“Jack, I-”  
“Look at me and tell me you don’t think we would be amazing. Look me in the eye and tell me we’re not meant to be with each other.”  
Jack’s eyes were filled with so much hope, yet so much despair.  
“I can’t,” David replied, tears filling his eyes as he placed one of his hands gently on Jack’s cheek, “That’s what makes this so hard.” 

“I can’t change your mind, can I?” Jack asked through a bitter smile.  
“I’m afraid so,” Davey sniffed and shook his head, “I just value what we have right now too much to risk it for a could-be.”  
“Our friendship wouldn’t disappear,” Jack argued.  
“Would it?” Davey gave back, “Imagine things worked out. Imagine all of my fears were irrational, and we live a happy couple’s life for months and years. And then we break up for whatever reason. Do you think we’d be able to be friends, even after that? After all the pain we caused each other, that comes inevitably with every relationship?  
Do you think we’d be able to tell everyone that we split up? Do you think we could resist the temptation to speak ill of each other?” 

“Fuck,” Jack mumbled and leaned his forehead against Davey’s knees, “I don’t think I could ever speak ill of you.”  
“Well, one year ago I never would have thought that _I_ would be telling _you_ that we _shouldn’t_ date,” Davey chuckled bitterly, “Things change, I guess.”  
He gently stroked Jack’s face with his thumb. Jack leaned into the touch with his eyes closed. 

“I never told you this,” he then said after a couple of seconds in silence, “Because it just felt ridiculous to talk about, I guess. But after Katherine and I broke up, there were times when I thought we wouldn’t make it. As friends, I mean.”  
He opened his eyes and let out a deep breath.  
“Of course there were moments when it was just _weird_. But that wasn’t it. It was kind of everybody else around us. Everyone was acting so weird. First, we had to _inform_ everybody that we officially stopped dating, and then they expected us to hate each other? And they started to pick sides. You never did, I know that, but many others did.”  
Davey nodded. He remembered how cautious he had been whenever he and Jack talked about that topic after he and Kath broke up. Davey desperately tried to tiptoe around it. He didn’t want to accidentally reveal his feelings for Jack.  
“It kind of impacted how Kath and I acted around each other. Everyone expected us to hate each other, so, subconsciously, this tension was there. It was weird. It wasn’t an easy time for our friendship.” 

Then, Jack let out a dry laugh.  
“Great, Jacobs. You made me think. And now I just scared you even more, didn’t I?”  
Davey shrugged, “A bit. But that’s exactly what I’m talking about. I always tried to stay friends with my exes. Never worked. No matter how close we were before.” 

“But Kath and I are still great friends _now_. It was hard, but we made it through because somehow everything kind of stopped when Kath started dating Sarah.”  
“So you think you’d be fine when we broke up and I started dating a new guy?” David asked sincerely.  
“Hell no, I would want to kill that guy,” Jack scoffed and stood up from the ground, let go of Davey’s hands. They felt cold again in Davey’s lap. 

“This sucks,” Jack groaned and sat down on the bed again.  
“It does,” Dave simply agreed.  
“I want to be your boyfriend, Davey,” Jack stressed once more, “But now that you forced all of your overthinking on me, I think I also don’t want us to end up in a weird place.”  
“See!” Davey gestured with his hands, “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”  
“But I don’t think we have to be like Kath and me,” Jack continued, “I still think we could last a lifetime.” 

“Statistically speaking-”  
“Ah, to hell with your statistics.”  
They looked at each other for a moment, sharing a tiny laugh.  
“I don’t know what we should do,” Jack then said genuinely.  
“I really want us to be together,” Davey sighed, “But I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” 

“This sucks,” Jack rubbed his face with his hands, “What do we do? You’re the smart one of us.”  
“Do you have a coin?” Davey asked out of the blue.  
“You want to throw a coin?” Jack asked in disbelief.  
“Yes. I mean, kind of?” Davey shrugged indecisively, “It’s not about the coin toss, it’s about the immediate reaction we feel. If we’re both not content with the result we pick the other one.” 

Jack blinked twice.  
“Sure, we don’t really have any other plan anyway,” he then gave in and grabbed into the pockets of his jeans.  
“You just have a coin floating around somewhere? Remind me to buy you a wallet sometime soon,” Davey said with his eyebrows pulled up.  
“Do what you have to do but I won’t use it anyway, it’s wasted money,” Jack shot back immediately and pulled out a Penny. 

“Heads means dating,” Davey suggested, glancing at the coin between Jack’s fingers, “Tails means friends.”  
“Okay,” Jack took a deep breath and nodded, “Ready?”  
“Oh, not the slightest.”  
“Great, me neither.”  
With that, he flipped the coin up in the air.  
Seconds later, both boys leaned in to look at the top of the coin on the back of Jack’s hand. 

Tails. 

One part inside of Davey felt proven right. Like he had been correct all along. Another big part, however, was utterly devastated.  
See, the issue with this coin toss trick is that, if you have a problem with both possible outcomes, it just doesn’t quite work. You’re pretty much never happy with the result, and that’s not because you subconsciously wished for the other one, but because you secretly wished that were was a whole other, a whole new way to approach this. 

“So… friends,” Jack said neutrally.  
“Friends.” Davey nodded.  
“Are you… Okay with this result?”  
“I… I don’t know,” Dave said sincerely, “I think I could feel worse about it.”  
“I… yeah. I know what you mean,” Jack nodded slowly. Then, he started laughing quietly.  
“What’s funny?”  
“It still sucks. It’s not ideal,” he responded and shook his head, “But I guess it’s probably the right call.”  
“I think so too.” David agreed with a mild smile, “But yeah, it sucks.” 

“How do you feel?” Jack asked and glanced at him.  
“I’m sad,” Dave gave back, “It’s the right call, but I’m still sad. But that’s just how it has to be sometimes.”  
“Amen,” Jack pulled one leg up and rested his chin on his knee, “Man, if I had known that it would be our last kiss, I wouldn’t have let you go this morning.” 

David’s stomach started tingling again.  
“If I didn’t go to class, I probably wouldn’t have overthought everything.”  
“Now that _really_ makes me feel better, you know how to cheer a man up,” Jack chuckled sarcastically.  
“I’m just realistic, you know that,” Davey shrugged apologetically, “But it’s better this way.” 

“Can I- uh,” Jack began but stopped talking then, “Ah, forget it.”  
“What is it?” Davey asked curiously.  
“Can I kiss you one last time? It’s kinda stupid. You don’t have to answer.”  
“I don’t think it’s stupid,” he quickly gave back, “I- I don’t really see why not, to be honest.” 

Ah, there it was again, the familiar feeling of his face flushing like a tomato. He already wondered when it would come back.  
“Is that a yes or a no?” Jack asked, mildly amused.  
“It’s a yes,” Dave said with a light smile. 

Jack nodded understanding and raised one of his hands up to gently cup David’s cheek. A shiver went down David’s spine and he felt like he’d blackout when he noticed how Jack glanced at his lips. It felt ridiculous, given that they fully made out this morning, and literally slept together last night.  
Still, when Jack leaned in to connect their lips gently but yet somehow firmly, David felt like his ribcage might just explode.  
Jack’s hand on his leg felt like it never belonged anywhere else, and Davey couldn’t help himself but wrap one of his arms around Jack’s neck, placing the other hand on his waist.  
The innocent kiss quickly turned into a not-so-innocent version and for the second time of the day, Davey had to seriously stop himself from just pushing Jack into the mattress of the bed.  
He tried not to think about how this really was the last time he got to kiss Jack Kelly. He could count the kisses they shared on two hands. 

Gasping, Jack eventually was the one to pull away first.  
“If things were different-” he stammered vaguely, his face still only inches away from Davey’s.  
“But they’re not,” Dave quietly replied and slowly took his hands off Jack.  
“Yeah. I guess they’re not.” 

“Are you okay?”  
Jack shrugged, “I mean, sorta have to be,” he mumbled, looking down.  
“Jackie,” Davey said, gently pulling Jack’s chin up, “Hey, it’ll be okay, we’ll be okay. You’ll always be my best friend.”  
“I know,” Jack nodded. The smile on his face seemed fake. “It still just sucks right now.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Past me is definitely a bitch for adding so many italics. Sincerely, present me.  
> Also, please remind me to never ever again put a phone chat in a fic of mine. The formatting was a pain in the ass. (I say that as if I don't have another phone chat planned in the next chapter.) After spending a solid hour typing HTML commands (which, at this point, I know by heart) now is almost 1 am for me, so at least I'll have a whopping 7 hours of sleep left. The things I do for my fanfics, I swear to God...


	2. 2.2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But that still doesn’t change that we’d put a lot at risk.”  
> “Why don’t you print that pretty little excuse of yours on a T-shirt?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good day folx! Hope y'all are having a wonderful day because I just got home from work and I am honestly so exhausted, but I finished writing this part yesterday night (which might be the reason why I was so tired at work today, one might wonder) and I was really looking forward to sharing! So there we go, here is part two chapter two of this series.  
> I rewrote the last few paragraphs because I didn't like the first draft. Which is rare for me, because my neurodiverse ass actually barely edits stuff, I just start writing and delete things immediately if I dislike them, I'm not someone who drafts a lot if I'm being honest. I hope it still reads relatively smoothly and doesn't look as messy as it was in the writing process!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Darcy blinked in disbelief at him through the camera of his phone.  
“So,” he began slowly, “This boy got on his knees for you, and begged you to give him a chance. And you _cried_ because you want to give him a chance. But you decided _not to_ because you’re afraid that the _people around you_ might make a fuss out of it?”  
“It sounds stupid if you phrase it like that!” Davey said defensively.

“David, I major in journalism, I literally study how to write things objectively. Yet, I think there is no way I can rephrase this so it doesn’t sound stupid.”  
“Now you’re just being rude,” Davey crossed his arms, “I think the decision makes sense.”  
“Those statements aren’t mutually exclusive,” Darcy shrugged, “It makes sense you came to your conclusion, but you’re stupid for not even trying to find another way.”

“Darcy, we tried, okay? I really don’t want to fight with you about this now.”  
“Neither do I, but I think you’re making a mistake. Dave, what you and Jack have could be a wonderful thing, and I only partially say that because most guys I get crushes on are straight and not even remotely interested in me.”  
“I know that it’s tragic, but it just wouldn’t work out! And I don’t want to put our friendship at risk if we break up again,” David explained once again.  
“Is it really that?” Darcy didn’t seem really convinced, “Because I think that’s not what you’re really scared of.”

David raised his eyebrows.  
“Oh well, then, be my guest. Enlighten me,” he rolled his eyes.  
“Gladly so,” Darcy nodded and leaned forward, “I think you’re more scared of having a definite answer. To the question if you and Jack would work out. You don’t want to be proven wrong. And at the same time, you don’t want either one of you to be hurt.  
One part of you believes that you could never last as a couple, so if you actually turn out to work out just fine, you’d have to admit to yourself that you were wrong about it. Now, on the other hand, you obviously wouldn’t consciously sabotage that relationship, because you don’t want to hurt Jack. The logical result is that you don’t even try. Because no matter how things would turn out, they wouldn’t satisfy you.”

David stared at him for a second.  
“That’s,” he then said, “That’s so stupid.”  
“So I’m wrong?” Darcy asked with an unimpressed face.  
“I didn’t say that,” Dave admitted, “But that still doesn’t change that we’d put a lot at risk.”  
“Why don’t you print that pretty little excuse of yours on a T-shirt?”  
“Alright now you’re _really_ just being rude,” Davey snorted, “It’s a big issue, okay?”  
“I’m pretty sure you’re just holding onto that excuse because it’s the last straw you have,” Darcy argued, “The problem you have there really wouldn’t be too hard to solve.”

“Really? How? Give me one solution that I agree with and I’ll go over to Jack’s place right now and sort things out,” David said quicker than he could overthink it. He then remembered how stubborn Darcy could be.

He clapped in his hands and leaned back, “Really?” he asked amused.  
“...Maybe. Dear God, I already regret what I said.”  
Darcy cleared his throat, “If I am not allowed to speak at your wedding, I will publicly shame you on every social media platform there is. Just so you know,” he then announced.  
“Don’t count your chicken before they hatched,” Dave warned him, “Now shoot.”

“You said the biggest issue with the whole staying friends-business is that your friends would make a fuss out of it?” Darcy asked.  
Dave nodded in agreement.  
“So then, don’t tell them.”  
“Oh, that’ll work out for sure. We’re just not telling people. And when we get married, we’ll invite everybody in for a celebration of our platonic friendship?” David mocked his idea.  
“You say you don’t want you two to date, yet you’re thinking about getting married to this man,” Darcy shot back without hesitation.  
“You literally just mentioned it.”  
“Yeah, and you’re still thinking about it.”  
“Shut up.”

“What did you say was the longest relationship Jack had?”  
“The one with Kath. It lasted for like 7 weeks.”  
“So you pretty much just have to go 7 weeks. Or just make it an even two months. And then you evaluate if you want to keep going. And if you then decide to stop dating again, you just do. If Jack decides long-term relationships still aren’t for him, you break up again. If you come to the point where you find you expected the relationship to be different than it turned out to be, you break up. It really doesn’t have to be any more difficult. In theory, I mean.”

“And then we tell our friends? If we stay together, I mean?”  
“Yeah, pretty much. You have two months to test it out, sort of, without everyone else being in the way.”  
David stared at the wall while he contemplated.  
“But what if we break up after that? Sometimes people just fall out of love,” the thought for him to just stop being in love with Jack Kelly felt almost ridiculous, “What if we break up after let’s say two years? I just don’t know if we could still be friends after that.”

Again, Darcy just stared at him through the phone screen.  
“You’re worried about what could be in two years? David, you have no idea how your life will look in two years generally. Nobody can predict the future. For all we know, we could all get killed by a natural disaster within the next two years.”  
“That seems a bit farfetched,” David made a grimace.  
“I’m not saying it’s very likely! But you can’t know it!” Darcy shrugged, “See, Dave, you have two choices. You can sit here and mope because you’re worried about a ‘what if’ that’s far in the future, or you can get it together, go over to Jack’s apartment, and watch what happens.”

_2:47 pm  
From_ **Darcy Reid**  
ANOTHER THING

 _From_ **Darcy Reid**  
I didn’t tell you when we were on facetime because I was too focused on you being a dumbass

 _From_ **Darcy Reid**  
But nice hickey ;)

 _2:49 pm  
To_ **Darcy Reid**  
Shush.

* * *

David didn’t bring up the courage to take the subway to Jack’s apartment until the evening.  
He knew he had spent almost the entire day riding an emotional rollercoaster, and he didn’t expect different for Jack. Who said that Jack wouldn’t just throw him out, not wanting to deal with this again? Davey really couldn’t hold that against him.

Still, around 6 pm, he got weak at the knees as he was walking up to Jack’s and Crutchie’s apartment building. He thanked the heavens there was an elevator, obviously, because Crutchie, who used usually used a wheelchair or crutches whenever he left the apartment, would have a really hard time on the daily otherwise.  
Jack, on the other hand, sometimes didn’t even use the elevator. If he was with Crutchie, or Davey, or any other people, he obviously boarded the elevator with them. But if he was alone, he’d just climb up the whopping amount of six flights of stairs, especially after a long day of classes that were pretty much just sitting around.  
He once told Davey about this. It just crossed his mind now, that he waited for the elevator doors to open in front of him.

Dave stood in front of the apartment door for about three minutes before he finally got himself to knock. Three minutes really don’t sound like a lot, but it was just sort of a _You had to be there_ moment. Three minutes feel like nothing when it was the time you had available to take a short nap, but they felt like an eternity when they were just you, contemplating if you should really tell your best friend that you changed your mind about dating them, after pretty much convincing them from the opposite earlier the day.

When he finally knocked, it wasn’t Jack who opened the door on him.  
“Oh!” Crutchie said when he first saw David, “Hey Davey, I didn’t expect you! Come in!”  
He stepped aside.  
“Thanks, Crutchie,” Dave stepped inside, “Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I sort of have to talk to Jack.”  
“Never would have guessed,” Crutchie laughed and leaned against the wall, “Jack’s picking up dinner right now, but he’ll be back in a few minutes, I suppose. Sorry, we didn’t think someone would join us spontaneously, so I don’t know if we ordered enough to feed all three of us.”

“It’s fine, really,” Dave quickly shook his head, “I just want to talk to Jack, then I can leave again and let you eat in peace.”  
Crutchie furrowed his brows.  
“That doesn’t really sound like it’s good news,” he then said, “Dave, listen, Jack had a really hard day, as you did, too, I imagine. Do you really think you should discuss this further with him today?”  
Davey tore his eyes open, “Oh, no, you got that wrong. I mean, I probably chose my words poorly. It’s not bad news, I promise. To me, at least.”

Slowly, Crutchie nodded, “Wanna share a bit more?” he then asked, slowly limping towards the kitchen, “It’s not really my business, so I understand if you don’t, but I heard Jack talking about it all day, and I’m just curious for your side of the story.”  
“There are no _sides_ ,” David replied and followed him into the kitchen, “We talked about the possibility of us being… _a thing_. And then we decided against it.”  
“How come?” Crutchie asked, tilting his head slightly, “I don’t mean to judge, of course.”  
“Are you trying to psychoanalyze me?”  
“Frankly, yeah, a bit,” he smiled.  
“I think I just thought too much about it,” David confessed, “And then I _talked_ too much about it, and Jack accused me that I _made him think_.”  
“Nothing good ever comes from that,” Crutchie laughed, “But now you’re here again. I take that as a change of mind?”  
“A friend called me stupid and bullied me into sorting things out.”  
“Hey, that’s was I was trying to do! Much nicer, of course.”  
Dave smiled. “I figured.”

“So, what’s the plan?”  
“Duh, I’ll tell him I changed my mind and hope he won’t throw me out.”  
“I’d say your chances are pretty good.”  
“On him not throwing me out or on him taking me back?”  
It wasn’t like they were even together in the first place, David thought, Jack couldn’t _take him back_ , the question was if, after today, he would take him at all.

“Yes,” Crutchie simply smiled.

The doorlock rustled, followed by the noise of the front door opening.  
“‘M back,” Jack’s voice sounded from the hallway, “Get ready for more whining.”  
“We have unexpected company,” Crutchie called back.  
“What do you mean?”

“Hey,” Dave stepped out of the kitchen, causing Jack to freeze for a moment.  
“Oh, hey,” he then brought out and looked up. His eyes were red and the skin around them was blotchy, he clearly had been crying for a solid amount of time. David felt awful, knowing that he was the reason his beautiful Jack had been crying about.

“Nice turtleneck,” Jack snorted, “Late March has always been a wonderful time for wearing long sleeves.”  
“Very funny,” Dave crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, watching Jack as he took off his leather jacket.  
“I’m just a comedic person in general, as you know.”

Crutchie squished past David to get to the bag with the takeout, that sat on the drawer next to the door.  
“I won’t lie to you guys, I’m pretty hungry so I’ll just eat alone in my room,” he announced, glancing into the bag, “If you need anything from me, just let me know.”  
“Good call,” Davey nodded.

“What’s up?” Jack asked as the door to Crutchie’s room closed behind him.  
“Can we talk? Again?” Dave asked hesitantly. Jack pulled his eyebrows upwards.  
“... Sure, I guess,” he then sighed and pushed the door to his own room open, gesturing David to follow him.  
The bed was still unmade, because Jack never made his bed, and Davey had a hard time restraining himself from thinking about the last night. _It_ , them drunkenly sleeping together, really only happened one night ago. It didn’t really feel like this little time.

“What’s up?” Jack asked and kicked off his shoes at the side of his bed.  
“I… I changed my mind,” dear God how cheap that sounded, “I don’t know if you’re still in. But I want to try it.”  
“You-” Jack blinked up to him, bewildered, “You changed your mind.”  
Dave simply nodded and looked down to the floor, “Yeah?”  
“You… Sorry, did I miss something?” Jack asked and crossed his arms, “Because the last thing I remember is that I was begging you to give me a chance, and then you almost cried and told me you couldn’t, and then _I_ came home and cried for two hours with Crutchie rubbing my back.”  
“I’m sorry for upsetting you,” David said genuinely, “I understand if you want me to leave.”  
“I don’t,” Jack said firmly and uncrossed his arms again, “I just want to know what’s been going on in that pretty head of yours, that made me go through all this in less than 12 hours.”

Dave let out a sigh and sat down on the desk chair.  
“To put it in a nutshell,” he began, “I talked to Darcy about us, and he called me stupid. And while he did hurt my pride, he’s really not wrong. Jack, I’m sorry. I was being stupid, and stubborn, and I wouldn’t even consider anything you said.”  
“Wait, Darcy? Like, Kath’s friend, Darcy?” Jack furrowed his eyebrows, “I didn’t know you guys were that close.”  
“It’s a long story,” Dave put it off, “I told him about my crush on you after we hooked up on accident when we were drunk and-”  
“ _You slept with Darcy?_ ”  
“Yes but that’s not my point, Jack, what I’m trying to say-”  
“Why did you never tell me about that?!” Jack looked both confused and amused.  
“Since when am I obliged to tell you about my sexual encounters?” he snorted.  
“You’re not,” Jack made clear, “But I mean it’s Darcy! A mutual friend! Come on, you know what I mean!”  
“How do you think that talk would have gone?” Dave asked and leaned back, “‘Hey, just checking in to inform you, when you announced you and Kath are a thing now that really messed with my feelings, so I got drunk and slept with our friend Darcy!’”

“Fair,” Jack gave back after a short pause, “So, what did Darcy tell you, besides that you’re stupid? On which I, for the record, agree.”  
“He made me realize that maybe there are things that I have to try out, even if I might not like the outcome,” Dave said and stopped for a moment. That’s what happened when he didn’t prepare himself for talks like these, “Wait, no, that sounded weird. I mean… We don’t know what’s gonna happen. We can’t say for sure, and that’s fucking scary and _yes, it would be a risk_. But… screw that, I guess?”

Jack slowly nodded.  
“So… You changed your mind,” he repeated once again.  
“I did,” Dave confirmed, “What about you?”  
“That’s not… That’s not really the question right now,” Jack sat down on his bed and looked at Davey with piercing eyes.  
“What do you mean?”  
“So you say you changed your mind? Who’s gonna promise me that you won’t change it again in two days? And again, and again, and again?”  
“I won’t!” Dave quickly ensured him, “I won’t, I-”  
“David, I need you to understand this,” Jack stressed, “I need you to be sure. Because I don’t think I could bear to have you for two days and then you suddenly decide against it again. Please, Dave, just be real. That’s all I’m asking.”

“I’m serious. I swear,” David emphasized.  
“Hey, look, that’s just what I said!” Jack laughed drily, “Earlier today, remember? When you refused to listen to anything I would say because God forbid you aren’t in the right every fucking time.”  
“Jack, yes, that’s what I’m trying to say!” David didn’t even hold it against Jack that he was still upset, “Maybe I was wrong.”

Jack raised his eyebrows.  
“What I mean is that,” Davey sighed, “Neither of us can foresee the future. I always play safe, I never take risks, I barely leave my comfort zone. And I just needed a few more hours to understand that maybe this time this isn’t the way to go.”  
“That’s great to hear, David, happy to hear that you evolved as a person while I sat at home, wondering if I will ever find true love again,” Jack scoffed.  
“Are you being dramatic or is that genuinely how you felt?” Davey asked.  
“Bit of both,” Jack glared at him, “I’m so angry with you. I like you so much and I’m so angry with you.”

“I know, and honestly, I understand,” Dave said, “Do you want me to go and come over sometime later?”  
“What, so you reconsider and change your mind again?” Jack asked half-jokingly.  
“I promise I won’t.”  
“I sure hope so,” Jack pulled his legs up and sat cross-legged on the bed, “But no, I still don’t want you to go.”  
“Oh,” Dave made, unsure what else to say, “Okay?”

After a few seconds, Jack started shaking his head and let out another dry laugh.  
“What is it?” Dave tilted his head slightly.  
“You’re such a dumbass. You got into my head, Jacobs. I really started worrying. I still am.”  
“About what?” David asked, “Weren’t you the one to say we could last for a lifetime?”  
“And you were the one to remind me of how naive it is to think that.”

It made David feel bad about himself again. He knew he probably shouldn’t have said that.

“Well then, perhaps today is the perfect day to be naive,” he then said cautiously.  
“Could be,” Jack agreed hesitantly, so unlike he usually was. Jack Kelly was never hesitant.

Davey simply nodded in silence and stared at his hands. He took a deep breath and began talking again.  
“So… I’m sorry I’m asking this so bluntly, but it’s been a long day for both of us and I think we should just address the elephant in the room instead of talking around it. Jack, do you still want to be my boyfriend?”

Davey’s stomach tingled and turned while he waited for the answer.  
“Yes, David, I do,” Jack finally replied, “I want to be your boyfriend.”  
“Really?” Dave asked, a smile creeping up his face.  
“Oop, no, changed my mind,” Jack deadpanned but started smiling as well the next second, “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

“You’re gonna make fun of this for the next two weeks, aren’t you?”  
“ _Weeks_? Try _years_ , babydoll.”  
“ _Oh my God_ please never call me that again,” David now was straight up laughing, the weight of the world off his shoulders.  
“Or what, you’re gonna change your mind?”  
“I wouldn’t go as drastic as that,” Dave grinned, shaking his head,  
“Just to make that clear, I’m still mildly upset with you for messing with my mind,” Jack crossed his arms and leaned against the headboard of his bed, “And thanks to you I still am a tad worried about what happens when we tell everybody about us and it doesn’t work out.”

“I actually talked to Darcy about that!” Davey quickly threw in, “There is a plan. I’m not saying it’s bullet-proof, but it is something. It’s better than nothing.”  
“You have a _plan_?” Jack stared at him, skeptical yet not completely opposed, “What do you mean by that?”  
“What if we- What if we just didn’t tell them? For the time being, I mean. For let’s say two months.  
We… We’ll tell them when we’re ready. When we’re sure. It’d certainly be less pressure. And if we notice along the way that it doesn’t work out, we at least don’t have them making things weird later.”

“Dave, you do realize that sounds like you’re trying to sell me a Netflix subscription?” Jack squinted and tilted his head, “Like a free trial sort of thing?”  
“It’s not like that!” Dave quickly said, but then paused, “It’s only partially like that.”  
“That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me,” Jack deadpanned.  
“Shut up, you know what I mean,” Davey shot back, “So, what do you think?”

Jack leaned his head against the headboard and looked Davey up and down.  
“You’re lucky you’re pretty,” he then grinned with a sparkle in his eyes, “Let’s do it, I’m in.”  
Dave exhaled with his eyes closed and started grinning as well.  
“I swear my heart skips a beat every time you call me pretty or hot, or anything else, literally,” 

“Better get used to it,” Jack pushed himself away from the wall, leaning forward, “Do you want to sit at my desk all night, or are you planning on joining me on the bed anytime soon?”  
David almost fell over his own feet when he jumped up from the desk chair, causing Jack to giggle.  
“Great, so now my boyfriend isn’t only risking that I succumb to cardiac arrest, but he is also laughing at me for almost breaking my neck.”  
“You’ve been dramatic enough for the day, Jacobs, swing your sweet ass over here,” Jack outstretched his arms and made grabby hands in his direction.

For the first time of the day, David Jacobs didn’t worry about a thing when he was kissing Jack Kelly. He didn’t worry about being late for class, he didn’t think about how they’d never kiss again. The only things that mattered now were Jack’s hand on the small of his back, the faint smell of cigarettes in his clothing (a thing that Davey seriously only tolerated, for the record, yet it somehow just was a part of Jack), and the uncombed hair between Davey’s hands.

By the way, Crutchie remained right when he said there might not be enough food to feed all three of them if Davey stayed for dinner. But neither Jack nor Davey really had much time to eat dinner anyway. The dessert was good, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Darcy's entire purpose in that work essentially is to call Davey out on his bullshit.  
> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed it, make sure to subscribe to the series to get updated when I upload the next part!  
> I don't quite know when I find the time to write the next part. As always, I do have everything planned out and I vaguely know how most of the dialogue will go, but I'll be starting a new job in a few weeks and that includes moving and... in summary, I wish a day had more than 24 hours so I can still find time to write.  
> Though, of course, I always appreciate a nice comment to keep me motivated!  
> Lots of love!  
> ~ Lix


End file.
